Add key roles

Add roles to a key without affecting existing roles or permissions.

Use this for privilege upgrades, enabling new feature sets, or subscription changes that grant additional role-based capabilities. Direct permissions remain unchanged.

Important: Changes take effect immediately with up to 30-second edge propagation.

Required Permissions

Your root key must have one of the following permissions:

api.*.update_key (to update keys in any API)
api.<api_id>.update_key (to update keys in a specific API)

Side Effects

Invalidates the key cache for immediate effect, and makes role assignments available for verification within 30 seconds across all regions.

1 min read

post/v2/keys.addRoles

Request example

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Keys.AddRoles(ctx, components.V2KeysAddRolesRequestBody{
        KeyID: "key_2cGKbMxRyIzhCxo1Idjz8q",
        Roles: []string{
            "<value 1>",
            "<value 2>",
            "<value 3>",
        },
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2KeysAddRolesResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

Response

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "role_1234567890abcdef",
      "name": "support.readonly",
      "description": "Provides read-only access for customer support representatives to view user accounts and support tickets",
      "permissions": [
        {
          "id": "perm_1234567890abcdef",
          "name": "users.read",
          "slug": "users-read",
          "description": "Allows reading user profile information and account details"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

post/v2/keys.addRoles

Authorization

Authorizationstringheaderrequired#

Unkey uses bearer tokens for authentication. Public integrations use root keys, while the dashboard proxy uses short-lived JWTs.
To authenticate, include the token in the Authorization header of each request:

Authorization: Bearer unkey_123

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Legacy permissions use tuple strings like api.*.create_key; resource permissions use Unkey Resource Names plus actions, like unkey:v1:ws_123:keyspaces/*#create_key.
Security best practices:

Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
Use different root keys for different environments
Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json

keyIdstringrequired#

Specifies which key receives the additional roles using the database identifier returned from createKey.
Do not confuse this with the actual API key string that users include in requests.
Added roles supplement existing roles and permissions without replacing them.
Role assignments take effect immediately but may take up to 30 seconds to propagate across all regions.

Length: 3–255Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$

rolesstring[]required#

Assigns additional roles to the key through direct assignment to existing workspace roles.
Operations are idempotent - adding existing roles has no effect and causes no errors.

All roles must already exist in the workspace - roles cannot be created automatically.
Invalid roles cause the entire operation to fail atomically, ensuring consistent state.

Items: 1–100

Responses

application/json

Roles added successfully. Returns all roles currently assigned to the key.

metaobjectrequired#

Metadata object included in every API response. This provides context about the request and is essential for debugging, audit trails, and support inquiries. The requestId is particularly important when troubleshooting issues with the Unkey support team.

Show child attributes

requestIdstringrequired#

A unique id for this request. Always include this ID when contacting support about a specific API request. This identifier allows Unkey's support team to trace the exact request through logs and diagnostic systems to provide faster assistance.

dataobject[]required#

Complete list of all roles directly assigned to the key after the operation completes.

The response includes:

All roles now assigned to the key (both pre-existing and newly added)
Both ID and name of each role for easy reference

Important notes:

The response shows the complete current state after the addition
An empty array means the key has no roles assigned (unlikely after an add operation)
This only shows direct role assignments, not inherited or nested roles
Role permissions are not expanded in this response - use keys.getKey for full details

Show child attributes

idstringrequired#

The unique identifier for this role within Unkey's system.
Generated automatically when the role is created and used to reference this role in API operations.
Always begins with 'role_' followed by alphanumeric characters and underscores.

namestringrequired#

The human-readable name for this role that describes its function.
Should be descriptive enough for administrators to understand what access this role provides.
Use clear, semantic names that reflect the job function or responsibility level.
Names must be unique within your workspace to avoid confusion during role assignment.

descriptionstring#

Optional detailed explanation of what this role encompasses and what access it provides.
Helps team members understand the role's scope, intended use cases, and security implications.
Include information about what types of users should receive this role and what they can accomplish.
Not visible to end users - this is for internal documentation and access control audits.

permissionsobject[]#

Complete list of permissions currently assigned to this role.
Each permission grants specific access rights that will be inherited by any keys or users assigned this role.
Use this list to understand the full scope of access provided by this role.
Permissions can be added or removed from roles without affecting the role's identity or other properties.
Empty array indicates a role with no permissions currently assigned.

Items: max 100

Show child attributes

idstringrequired#

The unique identifier for this permission within Unkey's system.
Generated automatically when the permission is created and used to reference this permission in API operations.
Always begins with 'perm_' followed by alphanumeric characters and underscores.

Length: 3–255Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$

namestringrequired#

The human-readable name for this permission that describes its purpose.
Should be descriptive enough for developers to understand what access it grants.
Use clear, semantic names that reflect the resources or actions being permitted.
Names must be unique within your workspace to avoid confusion and conflicts.

Length: 1–512

slugstringrequired#

The unique URL-safe identifier for this permission.

Length: 1–512Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_:\-\.\*]+$

descriptionstring#

Optional detailed explanation of what this permission grants access to.
Helps team members understand the scope and implications of granting this permission.
Include information about what resources can be accessed and what actions can be performed.
Not visible to end users - this is for internal documentation and team clarity.

Length: max 512

metaobjectrequired#

Show child attributes

requestIdstringrequired#

errorobjectrequired#

Base error structure following Problem Details for HTTP APIs (RFC 7807). This provides a standardized way to carry machine-readable details of errors in HTTP response content.

Show child attributes

detailstringrequired#

A human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence of the problem. This provides detailed information about what went wrong and potential remediation steps. The message is intended to be helpful for developers troubleshooting the issue.

statusintegerrequired#

HTTP status code that corresponds to this error. This will match the status code in the HTTP response. Common codes include 400 (Bad Request), 401 (Unauthorized), 403 (Forbidden), 404 (Not Found), 409 (Conflict), and 500 (Internal Server Error).

titlestringrequired#

A short, human-readable summary of the problem type. This remains constant from occurrence to occurrence of the same problem and should be used for programmatic handling.

typestringrequired#

A URI reference that identifies the problem type. This provides a stable identifier for the error that can be used for documentation lookups and programmatic error handling. When followed, this URI should provide human-readable documentation for the problem type.

errorsobject[]required#

List of individual validation errors that occurred in the request. Each error provides specific details about what failed validation, where the error occurred in the request, and suggestions for fixing it. This granular information helps developers quickly identify and resolve multiple issues in a single request without having to make repeated API calls.

Show child attributes

locationstringrequired#

JSON path indicating exactly where in the request the error occurred. This helps pinpoint the problematic field or parameter. Examples include:

'body.name' (field in request body)
'body.items[3].tags' (nested array element)
'path.apiId' (path parameter)
'query.limit' (query parameter)
Use this location to identify exactly which part of your request needs correction.

messagestringrequired#

Detailed error message explaining what validation rule was violated. This provides specific information about why the field or parameter was rejected, such as format errors, invalid values, or constraint violations.

fixstring#

A human-readable suggestion describing how to fix the error. This provides practical guidance on what changes would satisfy the validation requirements. Not all validation errors include fix suggestions, but when present, they offer specific remediation advice.

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